STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The No. 15 UW- Stevens Point men's hockey team (6-3-1, 3-1-1) jumped into first place in the league standings with a 4-0 win over UW-Eau Claire (4-6-1, 3-2-0) in the series opener on Friday.
 
UWSP goaltender Alex Proctor (Allen, Texas) posted his second-straight shutout stopping all 27 UWEC shots.
 
Senior Andrew Poulias (Whitby, Ont.) backed Proctor's shutout with two goals and an assist in his 100th career game with the Pointers.
 
Poulias opened the scoring at 12:39 of the first period as he redirected a pass into the net for the 1-0 lead. Owen Dean (Calgary, Alberta) and Dawson Sciarrino (Greensburg, Pa.) had assists on the eventual game-winning goal.
 
Peyton Hart (Delafield, Wis.) pushed the lead to 2-0 as he put home a rebound at 17:42 of the second period. His power-play goal was assisted by Nico Chmelevski (Northville, Mich.) and Sean Bunting (Phoenix, Ariz.).
 
Poulias netted his second goal of the night with 57 seconds left in the second period. Chmelevski picked up his second assist of the game and Hunter O'Brien (Cambridge, Ont.) also assisted on the play.
 
In the third period, Sciarrino made it 4-0 at the 7:42 mark. Poulias and Dean had assists as the goal was in the back of the net just four seconds after the faceoff win by Poulias.
 
The Pointers and Blugolds face off in Eau Claire on Saturday (Dec. 14) to close out play in 2024. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Arena.